Lovely Random Shots from Weeks 2 and 3 of March

It worked so well with the previous post, I thought I'd do it again. I long to be caught up, so I can share more musings, devotionals, thoughts and not, "Just the Facts," of daily life. At least that is how I'm justifying the recent shotgun approach to blogging. 😏😉😊

Without further ado - some lovely random shots from week 3 and 4 of March.  Of course, there was Pi day, and we celebrated with Veggie Pot Pie for dinner.

Another sign of Spring - new antlers on Bullwinkle - it's been fascinating to watch this process. 

Then again, maybe it wasn't Spring. No, it was - an Alaska Spring. I get it now. 😋😛😀

Hmmm....the race is on. Personally, I think Stacia has passed up her tallest sister. Arielle, maintains she is still the same height. She has a formula worked out - seems to think she lost an inch in childbirth and it will re-appear shortly! 🐽😏🐽 Didn't work that way for me. I used to be a willowy 5' 11". Nah, not really. 

Arielle (l), Stacia (r) 

I love our Moosey Visitors - though I'm getting more and more concerned about fruit trees, gardens and landscaping. 

Be still my heart!  Such expressive eyes. This is my favorite part of this season. 

Gideon - 10 months

Benny - 4 months

In this time period there have also been hints of new ministry and friendships, shared meals and coffee with strangers fast becoming friends, swallow tests, swallow and physical therapy, grieving and healing, lovely phone calls with Dad, Marco Polos and texts with Krista and Cousin Lorri, spiritual growth and a couple of spiritual tantrums, fishing research and planning,  and through it all -  oodles of research on how to become as self-sustaining as possible on 2 1/2 acres, gardening and composting in Alaska and raising chickens....

Michael's Latest Swallow Test

We found these darling Japanese eggs this morning. Michael was up last night and decided to try a couple. What a fun surprise.

Michael had a barium swallow test today. This is the third one since November. This one showed "marked improvement" since November.  He didn't aspirate or attempt to aspirate at all!  We will see his therapist on Monday, but the recommendation from the gal doing the test is he is ready to STOP the VITAL STIM (the shocking sessions) and maintain his progress with the exercises.  That means we shouldn't expect more improvement, but he's at a level now with his compensating strategies where he can do well. He has to be careful, but he's doing well. A concern seems to be an episode he had in therapy with liquid - but he was talking at the same time.

 As we've been repeatedly told, "The swallow exercises are a lifetime activity."   In his previous therapy in 2015, the VA therapist had given him exercises....but these take 2 hours a day and are MUCH more intense.   We have been warned  he will most likely see more loss of ability in 12 - 18 months.  This is what we have experienced - it was about a year from the end of his previous therapy to him having more trouble again.  The plan is to revisit the therapist as needed in the future. Often as coordination and strength change one has to adjust how the exercises are done, and they often do more Vital Stim when a Parkinsons patient takes a downturn.  Our fingers are crossed  this is the course Rhonda, his therapist,  suggests as well. We've all been praying this was the result of the test, and it looks hopeful. The VA has approved him for another 24 session of the electrical treatment as necessary.

Michael capped off the day - or welcomed a new day - by grabbing some shots of the light display outside.

Is It Friday Yet?

You know it's going to be a rough day when you lose the sponge in the fridge. I am not doing well with a  deficit of sleep. The kids find it humorous. 

Sponge for breakfast? Why, of course! 

Yay for Alex! His text book lists dissections as "optional," but he was intelligent enough to know if Mom has a closet full of animals in chemicals, it probably is mandatory! Score for initiative. While Stacia freaked out, he commented, "It's not much different than cleaning fish!" 

The difference being having to find various parts and label them. I'm not sure he ever determined the gender.

Stacia is becoming a pro at keyboarding. Here she works on Mavis Beacon. 

Alex spends an hour a day on the elliptical. Nolan loads his pack with 35# of books this week, and tries to walk 6 miles a day. They are preparing for a four day mountain hike in May. Stacia has been walking with Nolan.  They asked me if I wanted to come and I declined. They stopped by after walking 4 miles, and asked  if I wanted to do the last 2 miles. I did. 

We observed a few more signs of spring....there are more birds than Ravens out singing. Yuuki needs a bath after every walk (due to mud and muddy slush).  Our driveway is a skating rink - despite the hours of ice removal the guys are executing.

Tracks, Scat and a Beagle

It makes Yuuki craz - howling and jumping at the window crazy! She's a ferocious Beagle. 

Moose Tracks

Moose Scat 

How many Moose do you see? 

Signs of Spring

It will be fun to note and share the signs of Spring we observe. There is NO DOUBT  this is unlike Spring in the Pacific Northwest, CA or TX.  I've previously mentioned the piles of slush falling from the roof, and the never-ending battle with the ice from the thaw/freeze routine of these days.

Today we noted:

 We can see the markings on the road - all the way across! 

Stacia is desperate to enjoy the snow before it disappears.

My seeds are sprouting! 

Wind is stirring the snow on the mountains! We are so blessed to live in our valley, we can hear the wind above us, but it blows right on past us without touching down. 

Turkey/Chicken Broth

It's been suggested this is far too much work. I like knowing what's in the broth. I LOVE making something which will save us money from things we would have thrown out otherwise - veggie scraps and carcasses. 

Ingredients:
1 Turkey carcass
Drippings from turkey
Bag of veggie parts*
leftover gravy
3 - 5 bay leaves
8 or so peppercorns
6 whole cloves
salt to taste
4 Qts water (I just fill it to the top)

*I dumped in a LOT of thyme, rosemary, parsley, marjoram this time and it tastes much better - use your taste preferences.

*Bag of veggies - onion stops, carrot ends, celery pieces...whatever I have left over or from chopping goes into a a gallon bag in the freezer. When I make stock I dump it into the pot.

Directions:
Bring to a boil.  Skim off the foam that rises.

Simmer long enough for broth to reduce by 1/2 - this takes 3 - 5 hours. I've discovered if I let it reduce by about 1/4th - it is at a 1/2 when I remove the bones and strain the veggies.

Remove bones, strain veggies. I strain in my colander 3 or 4 times. If you want it without any bits of herbs - use cheesecloth.

Cool in fridge or out in snow on deck.

Skim the fat off the top.

Put into freezer bags or begin the canning process.

Some of the process is in this video at the 1:40 mark.

Spring Projects

It appears that ice management will play big in our first Spring in Alaska. More on this on the video.

Michael had no therapy or tests today. He had another sleepless night last night. Maybe a word on this is in order. This is not simply insomnia. Some have suggested we need to work harder at casting anxiety on God....while this may be true, it is NOT the main root of the insomnia around here. Some nights the tremors (external and internal) are worse than others and  keep us awake. Other nights it IS insomnia caused by meds. On top of the Parkinson's, Michael has a variety of chronic pain symptoms stemming from Gulf War Syndrome. GWS encompases a host of symtoms; both arthritis like, GI related and fibromyalgia - in other words his muscles and joints are both on fire.  The VA has been great at figuring out what was WRONG, but not so good at offering any answers to reduce the pain.  His pain level has not been below a 4 in years....and at times it's enough to keep him awake or pacing the floors.  He doesn't complain. It's amazing, isn't it?  He slept in today - and it was a well earned sleep.

I busied myself during this rare "at home" day with "house admin" type stuff.  I worked on figuring out a tricky insurance claim, in the process I discovered our prescriptions have gone up in price. I had a few women's ministry contacts to follow up - answering questions about the start of our upcoming Bible study and how to get on Facebook, solidifying details for April's Gathering. I finished the broth and canned it AND we had Orange Chicken (from scratch) for dinner. This continues to be a favorite and is healthier and cheaper than Panda Express.

The kids did school. The boys helped with ice removal. Stacia helped me with dinner and helped Bre with a walk. Michael gave me confidence the pressure cooker was working as intended.

We puttered around home.